Putin: America is in decline

Vladimir Putin said: Dragging Russia into a world war is against common sense and puts all of humanity on the brink of destruction. One of the biggest strategic mistakes of American political leadership is the use of the dollar as a foreign policy weapon. The Russian president continued: Despite all the sanctions and restrictions, Russia last year became the first economy in Europe, and this shows that the American tools are not working. The BRICS countries are developing at a very high speed and this trend will inevitably continue. The President of Russia emphasized: We have information that the USA supports terrorists in Russia and calls them dissidents. There is no need for American presence in the war in Ukraine. It is better for Washington to reach an agreement with Russia.

 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday fired the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, Valery Zalogeny. The Guardian reported that Zalogeny's dismissal comes amid media speculation of serious differences between him and Zelensky. Since February 2022, Zalogeny has led the Ukrainian army in the war with Russia. Valery Zalogheny will be replaced by Oleksandr Syrskyi, who has served as commander of Ukraine's ground forces since 2019. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rostam Umarov in a statement confirming Zalogeny's departure from this position said: "General Valery Zalogheny had one of the most difficult tasks, that of leading the armed forces of Ukraine during the Great War with Russia. But the war does not stay the same. The war changes and the requirements change. This action by the President of Ukraine follows tensions between him and Zalogeny following the failure of Ukraine's counteroffensive, the country's face with a renewed attack by Russia, shortages of manpower and ammunition, and the suspension of US aid in Congress. According to informed sources, tensions between Zelensky and his top commander have been rising for months. Zalogeny rarely gave public statements or interviews, but when he did he often angered the president's office. In an interview with The Economist late last year, Zalogeny described the war as a "stalemate," a description Zelensky flatly rejected. Valery Zalogeny was highly regarded among the frontline soldiers and was known for his courage, humility and humor and became a legend in Ukrainian society. Zalogeny was known as the "Iron General" in Ukraine, and this was dangerous for Zelensky. Some analysts have considered this popularity as one of the possible reasons that may have encouraged Zelensky to fire him. Zalogeny is mentioned in some circles as a possible rival for the president of Ukraine. Seymour Hersh, an American investigative journalist, recently quoted his sources as saying that Ukraine's president wants to fire his top general because of the secret negotiations he conducted with the West to end the conflict with Russia, as and announcing the readiness of some US officials to help him in a power struggle with Zelensky. Zalogeny on Thursday on his Telegram channel wrote: “The tasks of 2022 are different from the tasks of 2024. Therefore, everyone must change and adapt to new realities. We recently met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. This conversation was important and serious. It was decided that we have to change our approaches and strategy". It is said that the US did not object to Zalogen's departure. Two sources said on Friday that the Ukrainian government had notified the White House of its intention to remove Zalogeny from office.Reuters previously reported that Zalogeny's departure could damage the morale of Ukrainian forces fighting to hold positions along the 1,000-kilometer front line against a massive Russian force equipped with large ammunition reserves.